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Apart from a purely doctrinal point of view, there are three main reasons why the mandala was desirable for Nichiren. The mandala is linked directly to the person who inscribes it as opposed to a statue carved by an artisan or a picture painted by an artist. It is also accessible to anyone in financial terms. In addition, with a set of statues representing the Ceremony of the Air - allegorically describing Buddhahood – the mythological event would be merely suggested. By contrast, Nichiren’s mandala is very detailed, facilitating the Eternal Return as described by Prof. Eliade. Furthermore, with the calligraphic mandala which Nichiren would author himself, more meaning can be added in the details. The Nichiren Gohonzon is also significant in historiogeographical terms and thus “space” in the sense of “region” plays an important role. Some areas on the mandala are at times filled with depicted figures and at times left empty. The four spatial levels of mandalas inscribed after returning from Sado also symbolize the development and spread of Buddhism from India to China, Korea and Japan along the Silk Road. It hence describes also its history and the moving from west to east, while the Japanese deities Hachiman and Tensyō Daijin represent heaven and earth in territorial or spatial sense in addition to Japan as the country where Buddhism has reached its peak before moving westwards again. As the illustration below shows, the various figures are depicted in their original Indian, Chinese and Japanese attire to underline their respective origins. Since all the participants to the event are portrayed as being present contemporaneously, the Nichiren mandala transcends also the traditional concept of time becoming a visualization of the entanglement principle.[1]The illustration stems from Myōshū Mikujieshō (妙宗御鬮絵鈔), Ishii Sen’ō, Kitabatake Mo-hyōe, Tokyo 1889.